Ioun stone
Ioun stones are magically charged stones that, when activated by an intelligent creature, levitate in a spinning manner around the head of its user. They have various effects, depending on the shape and color of the stone. History Little is known about the history of these magical stones, despite the fact that the Pathfinder Society has invested significant energy into uncovering their origins. The following scanty facts are known about them: * The Azlanti were the first civilization to use the ioun stones. * The Thassilonians leveraged Azlanti lore to advance the art form, and developed new techniques around them. * No civilization since those two has made any advancements in the technique of creating or modifying these magical stones. * The Pathfinder Society has, however, created an exhaustive catalog of the ioun stones. Known facts The Pathfinder Society has learned the following facts about these rare magical items: * The stones only work on intelligent creatures, but it doesn't matter if the creature is living or dead -- both intelligent undead and constructs can make use of them. * While levitating, the stones cannot support any weight more than their own. It must be able to revolve around the user's head to work, and so creatures without heads cannot use them. * While orbitting the user's head, an ioun stone will never collide with other stones also in orbit. They're quite hard to strike during combat, and will benefit from any magical protections in effect on its user. Classifications Ioun stones can be classified in two primary ways: by shape, and by color. They come in a variety of shapes, including disks, ellipsoids, prisms, pyramids, spheres, and spindles. They come in a wide variety of colors, including amber, clear, crimson, dark blue, deep red, dull grey, dusty rose, emerald, gamboge, lavender, onyx, white, orange, pale blue, pink, scarlet, and purpose. Each color/shape combination has its own unique powers and abilities. Variations In addition to color and shape, stones can be delineated by the following characteristics as well: * Advanced: advanced ioun stones are more powerful than regular stones, and fetch extravagant prices on the open market, between 10,000 and 50,000 gold pieces. * Cracked: stones that have an obvious crack in them. They typically have weaker power than regular stones. * Flawed: these stones have flaws other than cracks, for example irregular faceting or impurities in the crystal. They can have unusual side effects on the user. * Scorched: These stones have somehow been depleted, and function less reliably than regular stones. * Cursed: little is known about cursed ioun stones, but there are rumors of stones that carry with them horrible curses. Implanting Ioun Stones The Thassilonians advanced the science of ioun stones by figuring out how to embed the stones directly into the user's flesh. Binding the stone to the user a lengthy, dangerous process, but once implanted the stone cannot be sundered or targeted or removed while the user is still alive. References Category:Magic items Category:Slotless magic items Category:Pathfinder Society